Nurse Extern-Med Surg en Ohio County Healthcare

PURPOSE:

1. To offer hospital-based experience to the student nurse;
2. To assist the hospital with recruitment efforts for future nursing positions;
3. To provide assistance, as approved, to the supervising nurse.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. May perform all acts that are routinely a part of the nursing assistant’s job description.
2. Will provide an official copy of skills performance evaluation from school.
3. Will submit documentation from school verifying current enrollment.
4. May perform additional acts that have been taught in his/her nursing education program provided that he/she is individually educationally prepared and clinically competent to perform, as verified by Ohio County Healthcare.
5. Performs all procedures according ti established policies and procedures of OCH and adheres to legal compliance policies as well as other regulatory issues.

EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Verify that student is currently enrolled in an accredited school of nursing.
2. Independently verify and document the competencies of the student to perform the acts included in the job description.
3. Provide continuous, direct, on site supervision by an RN who is immediately available and assigned to the same unit as the student. A licensed practical nurse may participate with the RN in providing supervision of a practical nursing student nurse extern.

NURSE EXTERN POSITION JOB RESPONSIBILITIES MAY NOT INCLUDE:

1. Receipt of verbal orders.
2. Independent assumption of the role, function, or responsibility of licensed personnel.
3. Nurse extern may not substitute for licensed staff.
4. Any delegated task ma not require the extern to exercise independent nursing judgement or intervention.

Each Nurse Extern will have a list of responsibilities that he/she has individually been approved to perform by verification of competency of the tasks. This list will be in addition to any task/responsibility covered in the Nursing Assistant Job Description. This listing with the competency checklist will be placed in the Nurse Extern’s personnel file. As the Nurse Extern progresses in his/her education, he/she will submit an updated skills checklist from the school of nursing after the completion of each semester. As new skills are listed for the nurse extern, the hospital will verify the competency and ass it to the list of approved tasks/responsibilities.

EXAMPLES OF ADDITIONAL SKILLS/RESPONSIBILITIES MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

1. Urinary catheterization
2. Oral, nasal, pharyngeal suctioning
3. Uncomplicated dressing changes, sterile and non-sterile
4. Collection of data re: patient’s history and current status
5. Administration of medications in accordance with 201 KAR 20:400
6. Placement of peripheral IV infusion devices under the direct supervision/immediate presence at the bedside of the supervising nurse.

This position is in accordance with the Kentucky Board of Nursing Advisory Opinion Statement, AOS#87-18 – Nursing Students – Revised 12-2018

QUALIFICATIONS: 

1. Currently enrolled in accredited school of nursing;
2. Successfully completed two semesters of nursing curriculum;
3. Submission of official copy of student’s skills performance evaluation (sent by school);
4. Ability to perform adult, child, and infant CPR.